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SHOOTING LOCATIONS MARKETPLACE 2022

Shooting Locations Marketplace brings out the creative side of the profession

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- The second international event for location scouts and film commissions, held last week in Valladolid, shows that the right location has a great impact on the final result of a film

Shooting Locations Marketplace brings out the creative side of the profession
An image from the Shooting Locations Marketplace (© Feria de Valladolid)

Shooting Locations Marketplace 2022 ended last Friday 21 October, two busy days full of interviews with audiovisual professionals and filming destinations, who came to this event organised by Feria de Valladolid and the Spain Film Commission, sponsored by Valladolid City Council. The event, with only two previous editions under its belt (and growing – read more), is an active business forum that provides great value to participants with meetings between colleagues, allowing not only contact for future productions, but also to learn how things are done elsewhere and the solutions they use.

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Exchanging knowledge was therefore the guiding principle of the conferences, where this year, among other topics, how to grow as a filming destination was discussed at the round table - moderated by Sara Hernández (EUFCN) – with Sameer Al Jaberi (Abu Dhabi Film Commission), Meghan Beaton (Norwegian Film Commission) and the American producer Alex Scott. It highlighted the irresistible appeal of both the tax incentives offered by each region and easy access to diverse natural areas.

Also at the event moderated by Juan Manuel Guimerans (Vice President of the Spain Film Commission), the President of Profilm Fernando Victoria de Lecea, the British location manager Dan Connolly and Piluca Querol, from the Andalucía Film Commission, all discussed key issues for the sector: the need for the team to feel safe in the chosen location, the vital support of the Film Commissions in enabling procedures ("they act as a bridge between the producers and the administrations") and that Spain has a long tradition (since the 1950s) of attracting international filming, now on the rise thanks to platforms.

Success stories were also analysed at the table moderated by Adrian Wootlon, President of the British Film Commission, Victor Aertsen (Madrid Film Office), Johann Grech (Malta Film Commission) and the Spanish location manager Enrique Gutiérrez (Pokeepsie Films), who highlighted the work of the location scout because "they learn a lot from other members of the filming team".

The values of a location scout within the audiovisual production process were made very clear over these two days. Talking to some of these professionals, Fran Castro, from Vancouver Media, said that “a script has to be fleshed out off-set. There is also a resolution part: behind every place there are formalities, rates and negotiations. Before, location scouts were part of the production team, but now we are a complete specialised team, in charge of guaranteeing off-set scenarios, and we work with the director, producers, art directors and directors of photography, always around the script, enriching it."

Pablo Azorín, from the service company Palma Pictures, location manager for 20 years, states that "until recently, locations were left in the hands of production assistants, while we have to take great care of them, because they are our stages and sometimes they were lost because they were not managed properly, but the demands of major film studios and platforms are imposing the Anglo-Saxon model, where the importance of the location scouts is valued. It's a wonderful job because we are among the first of the team to receive the script and we travel to places where almost no one goes, maintaining a close relationship with the director. The hardest part is managing huge teams, sometimes with producers who don't have the means," he concludes.

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(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)

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